From The Desk Of The Jigsaw Seen: Rodney Bingenheimer

The co-founder of the Jigsaw Seen 25 years ago (alongside ace guitarist Jonathan Lea), former all-Maryland high-school soccer player Dennis Davison gets his exercise these days as a professional dog-walker. Strolling L.A.’s concrete canyons gives him ample time to do what he does best: write distinctively original lyrics and melodies that give off the mere whiff of former heroes such as the Bee Gees, Who and Love. Unlike previous albums, Old Man Reverb, Jigsaw’s fourth set of originals in the past four years, has a unified sound running throughout. Davison and Lea will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on the Jigsaw Seen.

Lea: When I was in high school, the hip “new-wave” radio station in Los Angeles was KROQ (106.7 FM), playing all the newest singles from the U.K. like “Making Plans For Nigel” and “Stop Your Sobbing.” As good as the station was, it got even better on the weekends, when Rodney Bingenheimer hosted his show Rodney On The ROQ every Saturday and Sunday night. Rodney knew everybody (Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie, to name a few), had access to records long before they were released and you never knew who might call in (Brian Wilson, Blondie, the Ramones, etc.)

The feeling of being a teenager driving around suburban Los Angeles on Saturday nights listening to Rodney is one I wish I could relive. (Without the mayhem, of course.) Rodney On The ROQ is still on the air (also streaming on the internet), showcasing the latest sounds on Sunday evenings. I never could’ve imagined back then that he’d still be doing it decades later, actually playing my records (spinning the Jigsaw Seen’s Open Up The Box Pandora for months beginning in late 2012.) Long live the Mayor Of The Sunset Strip!

Video after the jump.

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